PTS tracked amphibious transporter

The PTS (Plavayushchiy Transporter Sredniy, "medium amphibious transporter") is a Soviet tracked amphibious carrier. It entered service in the mid-1960s to replace the K-61. Its main advantages were a higher water speed and the ability to carry 10 tonnes on land for a short distance to reach the water. It was built to ferry artillery, tractors, armoured carriers, vehicles and troops across rivers and lakes, to unload assault ships, and to serve as an ambulance or carry airborne troops.

Design

The PTS and the improved PTS-M (first seen in 1969) use a lengthened chassis of the ATS-59 tracked artillery tractor, with torsion-bar suspension and six roadwheels per side. The crew cab at the front is sealed against NBC attack and entered through two roof hatches. Behind it is a large open cargo area with a hinged tailgate and loading ramps, and the engine sits under the centre of the cargo floor. In the water, two three-bladed propellers in tunnels under the rear drive the vehicle, and two rudders steer it. A trim vane is raised at the front before entering the water. A front winch, bilge pumps, infra-red night vision, radios and a searchlight are standard.

The PTS-M can carry 5 tonnes on land and 10 tonnes afloat, at about 42 km/h on roads and 10-12 km/h in water. It often works with the PKP, a boat-shaped two-wheeled amphibious trailer. Together they can take an artillery tractor, a field gun with its crew and ammunition in one load.

PTS-2

The PTS-2 of 1985 replaced the PTS-M. It has a much more powerful engine derived from that of a main battle tank, seven roadwheels per side, NBC protection and a rear ramp. It is about 0.5 m longer and wider and carries more. One specification in the archive, apparently for this later model, gives 24 tonnes, a 12-tonne payload, 12 x 3.3 x 3.17 m, 710 hp, 60 km/h on land and 12 km/h in water.

Service

The PTS series served with most Warsaw Pact armies and with Algeria, Angola, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, India, Iran, Libya, Tanzania, Vietnam, Yemen and Yugoslavia, among others. In Czechoslovakia it was designated PTS-10. Surplus vehicles were later widely offered for sale. Firms in Poland and Belarus offered overhaul and export, an Estonian dealer offered 16 PTS-Ms in 2003, and a US dealer advertised one in 2002.